


Sometimes Safety Comes From an Unexpected Place

by RoseRose



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Before he meets Steve and Bucky, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, F/M, He turns 18 during the fic, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, M/M, Maria Stark's Good Parenting, Marvel Bingo 2019, Multi, Obadiah Stane/Tony Stark Non-con, Past Child Abuse, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Tony is 17 for the underage, War Veteran Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 13:13:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20097778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseRose/pseuds/RoseRose
Summary: Stark Industries is in financial trouble. 17 year old Tony Stark is "sold" to Obadiah Stane to fund Howard's empire.Almost a year later, Steve encounters Tony, and immediately realizes help is needed. He drags his boyfriend Bucky into it, and they hatch a plan to save Tony.





	1. Tony

**Author's Note:**

> Heed the warnings! If you have ANY questions about the warnings, contact me on tumblr at tehroserose, or leave a comment.
> 
> A big thank you to my beta, deathofthestars, my other beta/cheer-reader ShinpeiHolic, and the one who suggested the piano pieces seen in the fic, daftpunk_delorean.
> 
> This chapter is for the Tony Stark square on my Marvel Bingo

Howard was meeting with Obadiah Stane again. Tony was incredibly unhappy. He knew things hadn't been going well with Stark Industries lately. The products they were making were high quality but there just wasn't the money to advertise them well enough to sell. And the worse they did, the nastier Howard had gotten. All of his bruises were under his clothes, but his mother had to use far too much makeup that day to cover her cheek. Now, Obadiah Stane, who insisted on Tony calling him “Uncle Obie” was back again. He'd been Howard's business partner for a very long time, and Tony had known him since he was a kid. Lately, though, he'd become very uncomfortable around the man. Tony now thought of him with his whole name each time, trying to distance himself, at least mentally. The looks the man kept giving him were far closer to leers than paternal care, and had been ever since Tony had turned fifteen or so. Now seventeen, he knew those looks were bad news, but he was powerless to do anything about them.

Tony had been raised in a life of privilege that his father may no longer be able to afford. The money wasn't what was scaring him, though, it was the two men meeting with each other. One was a known danger, and the other just made him scared without knowing what the danger was. He knew which he was more worried about.

Stane's usually was far more jovial than Howard, but lately he had glowered just as hard. Clearly things weren't going well, and Tony knew who was the scapegoat when things weren't going well. Maybe only Howard had done so, so far, but Stane and Howard were close. Maybe Stane would follow in Howard's footsteps.

Tony had hoped to avoid both men since the meeting was likely to be either bad news for Stark Industries, which would have Howard angry and dangerous, or good news which would have Obadiah Stane even creepier than he usually was. Neither was something he wanted to encounter, but apparently he didn't have a choice. Ignoring a summons from his father would have been far, far worse. He'd never climbed a tree in his life, but his medical records had him being a positive monkey of a climber. He really didn't want another broken arm. Without his arms working, he couldn't escape into his own workshop with his own creations.

Not that his father was his biggest worry. Tony knew how to deal with that. While it hurt, it was what he knew. And he figured once he graduated college he could escape, find a job, and maybe save his mother, too. While his mother had never managed to protect Tony from Howard, Tony forgave her as soon as he was old enough to understand what was happening. She loved him, and Howard hurt her more and deeper than he had ever hurt Tony. She may not have ever been able to keep Howard from hurting her son, but Maria always did her best to make sure Tony knew she loved her.

Tony slipped back in his memories.

“Now, mio bambino, you're getting very good at being a technical player. Now we need to teach you to put your emotions into playing. I think I have a good song for you to learn for this, but first, I will demonstrate.” Maria sat at the piano and began to play Schumann's Kinderszenen. Tony, listening to the piece, had to close his eyes as the song made him feel how much his mother loved him. The way each note was played, not always perfect technically, made for a far better performance than if it had been technically correct without any emotion. The song went through all the pieces of childhood, and his mother's motherhood imbued it with extra presence.

Maria then sat Tony in front of the piano. “Here is Chopin's  _ Fantasie-Impromptu _ . It is a dramatic piece of music that has multiple emotions as you play. I know you can turn this into a captivating performance, and I look forward to hearing you master it.” Tony, wanting to make her feel as much as she had with her performance, immediately started practicing. He found that when he practiced made a difference as to what part he felt more. After spending time with Jarvis, or his mother, the piece came out with more emphasis on the softer bits. After spending any time with his father, the piece came out incredibly angry, with the softness that of sorrow or at best bittersweet. Tony shook himself from the memory. It wouldn't serve him well in facing what was to come.

“Tony! Get in here!” Howard called from within the office. Tony slunk into the room, staying as far away from both men as was physically possible.

“Son, in order for me to get the money needed to get Stark Industries to succeed, you now belong to your Uncle Obie. To everyone else, you're staying with him when not in school to learn business. To him, you do everything he says. Everything, no matter how much you don't want to. If you don't listen to him, you'll never see your mother again.” Howard's eyes were icy steel. There was no concern for Tony showing in them, not even a thought that it was his son he was bartering away. The only emotion to be seen was something that looked like anger. Tony thought it was from the idea of losing his punching bag.

Tony gulped, though he did his best to hide the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Sir, please... I can try to find money some other way. Those designs I've been tinkering with, we can sell them to someone. Please don't do this to me.” Tony hated begging. He'd never begged before in the face of Howard's abuse, but he knew, with the soul deep knowledge of the condemned, that what he was about to face was completely different from what he previously had dealt with. Also, he was terrified for what would happen to Maria without Tony there to soak up some of the anger.

“The decision's made. You have three weeks before you're going back to school for the fall, so go pack quickly. Obie'll decide how much you can take. Once you're done, you'll have five minutes to say goodbye to your mother.” Howard’s face slid from the previous glower to a very nasty grin. “Oh, and she thinks the same as the rest of the world. Don't tell her otherwise, or else I won't be able to let you have any time with her without me there.” Howard glared at Tony, fist clenching as if anticipating striking someone, clearly only caring for being obeyed, not the distress his son wasn't even trying to hide anymore. In fact, he looked like he wanted to be disobeyed, so he could have an excuse for taking out his frustrations on his son.

For the first time, Stane jumped in. “Tony, you can have two bags. One bag of clothes, one of tools. If I'm going to be investing more in Stark Industries, can't have it failing due to lack of products, can I?” With that, Stane let out a laugh clearly meant to be jolly but which just made Tony's hair stand up on end.

“I'll go pack, then.” Tony started to slip out of the room, thinking about what tools he wanted the most, and if he could hide the iPod his father had called 'a waste of time' into his bag.

“Just remember, I'll be examining your bags and you thoroughly before we leave, Tony. I don't want you to have any distractions from work or myself during our stay.” Stane's voice cut through Tony's thoughts, just leaving him with despair. With more time he could hide things so that Stane wouldn't notice, but without time, everything would be subject to his approval. Tony slunk out of the office in order to go pack.

After hastily packing only things he knows will be allowed, Tony hid anything and everything he actually cared about in already made hiding spots. He didn't trust that Howard wouldn't toss his room once he was gone. Hopefully he'd have a chance to come back before school. He could rent a storage unit or something and keep the stuff permanently away from Howard and Stane. He heard voices coming up the stairs, and he knew he was out of time. He grabbed his bags, and stepped out of the room. “I'll look at these while you say goodbye to Maria.” Stane took the bags from Tony, gently, like he was pretending he wasn't about to control Tony's life. Tony, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, fled downstairs.

“Hi Mama.” Tony's voice was gentle. He knew better than to startle Maria. Neither of them liked to be surprised, and neither of them wanted to admit to why that was, either.

“Mio bambino,” Maria's voice was musical, with a faint Italian accent, “I will miss you while you are learning. But, your father, he has his mind made up.”

“Don't worry, Mama. Please, just take care of yourself.” Tony's hug was so gentle, like he was cradling a butterfly. He knew his mother was more delicate than he was, and leaving her in Howard's tender mercy was a risk, but not leaving meant Howard would hurt her to get him to do things. “I love you, Mama. I need you to remember that.”

“I love you too, bambino. No matter what, I love you. Keep yourself safe for me, please.” Tony had to hold back tears. His mother clearly knew that she wasn't safe, either. Tony couldn't protect her, couldn't protect himself, but he had to pretend he could. He couldn't let his mother know what he was heading towards.

“I will be safe, Mama. I just hope you will be.” And with that sentence, Tony made sure every bit of conviction he had came through. His mother would never suspect, and she would be happy that Tony was no longer in Howard's reach.

Howard walked in. “Time's up, boy. Time for you to go learn business with your Uncle Obie.”

“Good bye, Mama.” Tony gave his mother one last gentle squeeze.

“Good bye, bambino.” The little strength Maria had squeezed her son, giving his heart protection for what he was about to face.

Tony held his head up high as he walked out of the room.


	2. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for the Marvel Bingo square Sexual Slavery

Three weeks later and he was at his dorm room. He had no idea how he was going to hide his misery from Rhodey. His roommate wasn't stupid, and Tony knew that Stane's treatment was showing on his face. Well, Rhodey already knew about Howard. He'd just have to pretend that it was especially awful. Tony didn't want his best friend getting in trouble for trying to help him. At least Rhodey had given up trying to save Tony from Howard, albeit reluctantly. Fortunately, this was Rhodey's last semester before going into the Air Force. Tony didn't want to imagine that he could keep his secret after a whole summer with Obadiah Stane.

What Tony didn't know was that Rhodey almost immediately realized something new was wrong, though it took a significant part of the semester for him to figure out. Rhodey figured the shape of it out at least when he was looking for Tony at a frat party and found him about to have sex with someone from the party. He interrupted, mostly just by giving the woman Tony's age, and found Tony having a panic attack. They never talked about it after, but that was when James Rhodes started praying for Tony again. He had already learned that a poor black kid at MIT on an Air Force scholarship would never get Howard Stark in trouble. Tony never learned he had gone to the police as soon as he had seen the bruises on his young roommate's body back in Tony's freshman year. His experiences there meant he knew there was nothing he could do to help without incontrovertible proof. So, if Tony wanted to pretend there was nothing new wrong, James Rhodes would pretend hard with him, and keep waiting for an opportunity to save a teenager no one else thought needed saving.

Tony, however, knew none of this. He did, however, know that he had to have something when he came back to school. That's what led to the creation of a robot, DUM-E. While he told everyone it was to help him in the workshop, the actual reason was because he was self-aware enough to realize that he would be lonely without Rhodey. When Rhodey came and gave him a big hug on DUM-E's creation, and held him for several minutes without letting go, Tony thought Rhodey understood. After the end of the semester, though, DUM-E went into storage. Tony already had enough hostages to Stane and Howard. He didn't need to hand them one more.

The end of the semester came far too quickly for Tony. He looked out into the crowd as he received his first degree. Rhodey was there cheering, but no one else was. He hoped when the Master’s was awarded later, they’d have arrived. He was disappointed. 

Yes, everyone knew he was going back to school for his PhD, but this was still a major event. He wanted his mother there, but apparently Howard had kept her from coming. He hoped Stane and Howard would let him see her before he disappeared into Stane's mansion for the summer, but he suspected that he wouldn't see her again until Stane felt he had earned it. So, after saying a long goodbye to Rhodey, who was heading off into the Air Force, Tony headed home all by himself.

It took the entire trip for him to prepare. He spent the entire time lost in memories of the crazy stunts he and Rhodey did during MIT. He knew those memories would have to sustain him because anything fun was probably off the table as long as he was with Stane. Tony's favorite memory of the crazy stuff wasn't any of the parties. His favorite memories were the times the two of them stayed up all night working on their projects and just bullshitting each other. Rhodey was the only person who knew how desperately lonely Tony was, and Tony, for his part, was the only one who knew how scared Rhodey was of not being able to get a flying position in the Air Force. Rhodey didn't want to be stuck on the ground his entire time in.

“Ah, Tony! There you are! I have some good news for you.” Stane's bombastic voice was the first thing to greet Tony as he stepped off the private plane.

“Yes, sir?”

“Now what have I told you? You don't have to call me 'sir'. Uncle Obie was fine when you were small, and is still fine even now that I'm teaching you the tools of the trade.”

“Yes, Uncle Obie.” Tony wasn't usually one to give in, but he needed to get a read on what was going on in order to know how far he could push.

“Well, Howie and I pulled some strings, and you're going to be doing your PhD here in New York at Cornell instead of at MIT! That way I can teach you the business while you go to school. Isn't that amazing?”

Tony shrunk back. It was worse than he thought. There would be no escape for him, not for more than during the day, since at night he would have to head back to Stane's place. Given that, it was not the time to upset Stane, not until he figured out a way to hide for at least a short time. “Yes, Uncle Obie.”

“Now, let's go home so you can get yourself settled in.”

Tony was very grateful the entire trip back to Stane's place was quiet. It let him build up the resolve to not show how scared he was, or how much what Stane was doing hurt him. At least when not in public Stane wasn't pretending anything anymore, so Tony didn't have to pretend in private, either.

That didn't keep Tony from shaking the moment he got behind closed doors in order to put his bags away. He may not have to pretend about what was coming, but Tony wasn't going to show Stane any weaknesses either. He survived Howard. He would survive Stane. Everything he learned growing up the way he did would be put to use. He could survive- he hoped.

That night, Tony was reminded that there was no way he would last in Obadiah Stane's house. It was worse than living with Howard. The next morning, a phone call from his mother reminded him he would have to. What he was going through was worth it, to protect her.


	3. Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for the Free square on my Marvel Bingo

Steve Rogers, like so many aspiring artists, had a day job. He was a waiter at a fancy Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. It was new, participating in the gentrification that had hit the borough hard. Steve was still holding on to living in Brooklyn, where he grew up, but many of his fellow waiters commuted in from less gentrified areas. Steve wasn't going to give up without a fight, and at least he had a building that wasn't gentrified, and a roommate, well, boyfriend, to share the bills with.

Steve was also grateful he was no longer sickly. He was still small and thin, but he had outgrown his childhood ailments for the most part, so his medical bills weren't too bad. His asthma hadn't completely gone away, so he had a rescue inhaler, but for the most part, he was healthy. Which was a very, very good thing because his boss at the Italian restaurant was very tough. Fair, but worked all his employees pretty hard. Nick Fury was the manager of the Italian restaurant, but rumors said it was his retirement job after leaving some shadowy government agency. Steve didn't believe the rumors, any more than he believed the ones that said the maitre'd, Coulson, had killed a rude customer with a spoon, but the two of them could certainly be scary, though Coulson's scary was hidden behind a very bland exterior.

Working at a fancy place he had a couple different kinds of customers. There were the people who could only afford to come on a special occasion, and very rich people who came in regularly. Sometimes there were rich people who weren't regulars, but even they had a different attitude than the ones who were at his restaurant for a special treat. He often hated the way some of the rich people treated him, like he was below the bottom of his shoe. That day, he walked into work praying that one of his regulars wasn't there. He didn't feel like he had the patience to deal with Obadiah Stane.

“Hi Steve!” His fellow server Natasha said. She was a gorgeous woman with flaming red hair, and as she had served with his boyfriend, Bucky, he knew exactly how deadly she was. She flirted with the customers for the best tips, but no one ever crossed the line with her. Somehow everyone knew where it was.

“Hi Nat! How's everything?”

“Just finishing up my last tables. You showed up right on time. A new table is about to be seated, and this way we don't have to switch off in the middle. You know how that pisses these customers off.” Natasha then danced out of the kitchen with the desserts for one of her tables. While she had lunch that day, and Steve had dinner, apparently some of the diners decided lunch was going to last until 4:30 that afternoon.

Steve's customers kept him running ragged, so much so that he didn't notice at first that one of his least favorite customers was seated. When he did, he noticed a very young man sitting with him, one who didn't say a single word as the man, a Mr. Stane, talked bombastically. Hoping that the presence of the young man wouldn't make his job even more difficult with the historically difficult man, Steve went over to take their order.

“Welcome back, sir. Can I get you started with anything to drink?”

“Yes. We will have a bottle of the Brunello di Montalcino, the 1996. Two glasses. We are not yet ready to order.”

Steve managed to keep his dismay off his face. He was going to have to ask for ID for the young man. “Sir, I'm sorry, but if the young gentleman is going to partake, I will need to see his ID.”

“Fine. One glass then. He forgot his wallet at home.” Stane glowered at both him and the person he was eating with, who was probably not old enough to drink, no matter Stane's excuse.

“I will return shortly. Any questions on the menu before I leave?” Steve watched the young man, a brunet with soft brown eyes start to open his mouth before clamping it shut with a glare from Stane. The look made Steve's stomach hurt. It reminded him of far too many that his Da had given his Ma before he died. Still, it wasn't clear, and it wasn't any of his business. Steve left the table to go fetch the wine, and check in on his other diners.

Once he returned to the table, the young brunet was looking down, not even raising his head when Steve asked for their orders. Instead, Stane ordered for both of them. When he gave the other man's order, the smaller man winced. Steve was made even more uncomfortable by the interaction. Yet, without proof there was nothing he could do, and as long as the two were together, he couldn't even try and offer comfort to the very young man whose tenseness appeared to be out for everyone to see. He really wanted to offer that comfort, though, because Steve could tell that if he relaxed, that young, scared man would be beautiful.

Steve put the order in to the kitchen, and then went to the bathroom. When he got there, he forgot he needed to use it, because there was that beautiful, frightened young man... with his shirt pulled up and a large bruise that looked like a shoeprint. “Oh my God, what happened to you?” Steve's exclamation left his mouth before he even had a chance to think.

“Nothing.” The word was short and sullen as the shirt dropped back down. “I'm fine.” He turned to go, and Steve reached out a hand to stop him. Steve then dropped his hand when the young man flinched.

“He's hurting you, isn't he?” Not giving the man next to him a chance to argue, Steve grabs his pen and order pad, ignoring the way Tony shrunk back at his sudden movements, knowing there was no fix for that,, writing down his name and number. “Give me a call, I'll help you. My boyfriend will help you. Just let us get you out of there.” Steve internally was grateful for his small stature. It let him look determined, eyes steely, without being overly intimidating. Still, despite his steely eyes, he made sure, after giving his number, to slow down his arm movements, keeping them visible.

The young man, looking more vulnerable than he had all night, even in the face of Stane's glares, blinked and shook his head in bewilderment. “Why are you doing this? Don't you know who he is? He could  _ ruin _ you!”

“You deserve to be helped. You don't deserve what he's doing to you. Call me, please. Just, what's your name? I want to make sure I know who's calling right away.”

“Tony. But don't wait for my call. It's not coming.” With that, Tony pushed past Steve, holding his entire body stiffly.

Steve finished his business in the bathroom quickly. While he wanted to give Stane the cold shoulder through the rest of the meal, he knew from his experience with his father that any mistakes he made, Stane would take out on Tony. Given that Tony aroused every single one of his protective instincts, and Bucky told him that he had the protective instincts of a mama bear (the hypocrite), Stane was going to get the best service he had ever seen. And Steve was going to hate every last minute of it.


	4. Steve

When Steve got home from work that night, he spent quite a bit of time detailing to Bucky what he believed to be Tony's plight. “Bucky, he was so scared. Tony was so young and gorgeous, he deserves to have someone take care of him, not have someone hurt him. After I saw those bruises, I just wanted to bring him home.”

Bucky sighed. “You and your willingness to get in between people and their bullies, punk. Seriously, at least give me a heads up so I can make sure to get you out of that alley alive. Or wherever. This Stane sounds like he could make some real trouble. Of course, now that I know, go ahead and save your handsome prince.”

“P-prince? Buck, you know I'm yours!” Steve spluttered, not willing to admit how hot he'd found Tony, even if he and Bucky might, someday, be willing to add someone else to their relationship.

“Don't worry, punk. I know you're loyal. I just want to meet this guy that has you talking about him like our friends say you talk about me.” Bucky's face starts off serious before he cracks and grins. “Maybe I'll like him too.”

“Well, first we need to save him.” Steve's voice was steady, sure, and determined.

“Steve.” The one word comes out as a sigh. “Make sure you know what you're saving him from, too.”

With that in mind, Steve kept going to work, hoping Tony would call so he could help out the scared brunet. A week passed without a word from the man, until, a week after he first met, Stane and Tony were sitting at the same table. This time, Tony had a black eye. Again, Steve had to refuse to provide alcohol to Tony, and otherwise, the night went fairly similarly, although Steve was raging internally at the signs that the previous week hadn't been an isolated incident. Ducking off to the bathroom, Steve figured, despite the similarities, he wouldn't be lucky enough to run into Tony again. He was that lucky, though this time he didn't see any further bruising. “Tony, please. Let us help you.”

“No. He'll tell my father, and then, well, then it will be even worse.” Tony whispered, face set in stone, but eyes wild with desperation.

“ _ Please _ , Tony. You're hurting here.” Steve didn't want to see Tony broken the way his mother had been broken. It was clear Tony had spirit and fire, just like Steve's mother, and fire like that shouldn't be extinguished- Steve stopped that thought right in its tracks.

“If you can figure out a way to keep an  _ influential _ man like that from telling my father anything,  _ then _ you can rescue me,” Tony sneered.

“Fine.” Steve was determined to preserve Tony's fire. “If I can keep Stane from talking, you’ll let me rescue you? Do we have a deal?”

Tony blinked in surprise, though Steve was unable to see any other sign of emotion. It was clear to Steve that he wasn’t being allowed to see how Tony felt. “We have a deal. I doubt you’ll be able to make it happen, but sure. Why not?” Again, the two left the restroom to return to where they were.

When Steve got home that night, he talked to Bucky. “Do you think you could get enough information on Stane to blackmail him? Then we could rescue Tony. Tony just doesn't want his father to know anything has changed.”

Bucky sighed, again, as Steve continued in what he saw as another crusade against a bully. “I do have that stealth training. I can try to get blackmail material. Why are you so insistent on saving Tony yourself? We could just call the police.”

“You didn't see him, Bucky. He's so sad. It's like he has no hope of being rescued, like nothing anyone does will do any good. I think... I think calling the police will just get him hurt, or us laughed at. It's not like anyone's going to listen to a poor waiter about a rich man like Stane.”

“Fine Steve. Just, if we're going to do this, we'll have to plan carefully. I know you like jumping into your harebrained schemes without any preparation whatsoever, and I know I'm always jumping in after you, but this time, we do it  _ my  _ way. Got it?” Steve realized Bucky was trying his best to look intimidating, but the two of them had known each other far too long for Steve to be anything other than happy that Bucky was going along with the plan from the beginning rather than jumping in once Steve got in trouble.

“Thanks, Buck! You won't regret this!” Steve, due to his excitement and size, was actually resembling a hyperactive puppy even more than usual. Bucky covered his eyes and let out a big sigh.

“Steve, do you even know where Stane lives? We need to plan this.” Steve's enthusiasm is undaunted. He's going to save that adorable Tony. And who knows? He and Buck had discussed the possibility of adding a third to their relationship. Steve was certain that Bucky would be smitten as soon as he saw Tony, just like he was- even if he hadn't admitted it right away.

“Stane comes in with Tony at the same time every week. You can just follow them home. We'll figure it out from there. I know you can do it, you're the best at being sneaky!” Steve had every bit of faith in Bucky.

“Are you sure there will be something incriminating to take pictures of? I don't want to be on a wild goose chase.” At Bucky's question, Steve's excitement deflated.

“I'm sure, Buck. Tony, well, there are a lot of moments when how Tony reacts to Stane reminds me of how my ma reacted to my da.” Steve's eyes are open, but he's not seeing anything in the here and now, but is rather seeing far too many moments in the past. “You know what he did. I'm fairly sure Tony has it that bad.”

“C'mere, punk.” Bucky reached out and snagged Steve, cuddling him close. “We'll go save this Tony fella, and make sure he gets somewhere safe.”

“Thanks, jerk.” Steve prayed they wouldn't be too late to save Tony's fire.


	5. Bucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills the Bucky Barnes square for Mavel Bingo

Bucky was on yet another one of Steve's crusades. Apparently he was going to save a broken boy Steve had met twice. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd been pulled into one of Steve's quixotic crusades. The two of them had grown up together, and Steve had always been small and had always hated bullies. It didn't matter if they were bullying him or someone else he knew, Steve jumped in with fists and words flying. Bucky had needed to rescue him more than once, since Steve was always small, and as a kid had been constantly ill. Still, they had always been close, so no one had been surprised when they had gone from being best friends to boyfriends. They didn't have a date for when it happened, the two of them had just sort of slid into the relationship.

It had nearly been broken when Bucky had decided to enlist. Steve, with his history of health problems and his still-delicate build couldn't follow. It would be the longest they had ever been apart. But, Bucky had no prospects, no job, and he had bills. Bills he hadn't wanted to tell Steve about because he was paying for Sarah Rogers's final illness still. Steve never knew that was why the bill collectors had never come. He still thought that the life insurance payment had been enough.If Bucky had his way, Steve would never find out. Still, Steve didn't understand why Bucky had to go off into war, and still didn't. Fortunately it hadn't broken them, but it came close.

Bucky had come back from the war just a bit broken. He'd been captured by terrorists, but Natasha had pulled him out before it had gotten too miserable. Still, his arm would always bear that star-shaped scar on the shoulder, and he now joined Steve in the occasional screaming nightmare. (Sometimes Bucky wished he'd killed Joseph Rogers long before he died). Now, instead of going out all the time, he worked from home so when Steve wanted to go out, he had the energy to do so. Bucky was a ghostwriter. He had written so many books for famous people, without ever getting credit. He was glad. All he wanted was enough to live on and be left alone, and his ghostwriting did that. Thing is, what Steve didn't know, is that he had once ghostwritten a book for Obadiah Stane. He had never met the guy in person, but the reason, besides Steve's enthusiasm, that he was so willing to get involved was that the man had been an utter ass throughout the entire project.

Since Bucky was between ghostwriting projects, he had all the time he needed in order to prepare to follow Stane. He made sure that his outfit for the night was both completely nondescript and hid the way he looked. Bucky even made sure that the license plate for his bike was obscured a bit by dirt. Not enough to get him in trouble, but enough that someone wouldn't be able to read the plate easily. He also had a high quality video camera that he borrowed from Nat, because of course she had one. He didn't want to know. Having done that, he waited in the parking lot. Since Steve didn't know he knew Stane, Steve had also provided a picture off of Google, which also supplied one of Tony. Seeing the picture, Bucky understood Steve's obsession with the man. He was utterly adorable. If he was also as feisty as Steve intimated, well, he wouldn't object to making their partnership a trio.

The night of the dinner, Steve texted Bucky to inform them that all was according to plan, and Stane and Tony were dining together that night. The text made Bucky's blood boil, though, when Steve mentioned Tony's other eye was black, and he seemed to limp to the table.Bucky had already had enough of seeing people who were supposed to love each other hurt each other before he hit high school. Apparently he had some Don Quixote in him too, because hearing about how hurt Tony was made him want to go in and punch Stane himself. Bucky took the rest of Tony and Stane's meal to calm himself down. Sneaking into photo distance of a highly secure estate would require him to be calm.

Finally, Stane and Tony emerged, to be picked up by their driver. Stane appeared to be a bit tipsy, and Tony was flinching from every wave of Stane's hands. Bucky could clearly see that Steve was right, something was up. He put all his focus onto driving and following them home. Thanks to New York traffic, it was thirty minutes later before the Rolls Royce pulled up to a stately mansion. Bucky drove around the block and found an alley to park in, before climbing a tree to sneak in. He was lucky. Only one room was lit, and there was a tree outside it. Bucky felt like a cliché, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth as he settled in to watch through the window.

Looking through the camera lens, he realized the window was open, and he could hear shouting coming from inside. “Uncle Obie, please, no! It's gonna hurt! You did it too hard this morning!” Bucky then sees and hears a hard smack across Tony's face.

“You deserve it. You made me so angry you're now not going to be able to go into the office for a week because I don't want questions. Guess you get to work from home. And I'll take half days so I can spend more time with you” Bucky saw Stane lean forward and leer at Tony. The zoom function on that camera was too good for his comfort. He really didn't want to know what that leer meant, but he was going to have to. Clearly it was more important than he thought to get Tony out of that house. “Strip.” Stane ordered Tony, as he undid his belt.

Bucky would have looked away, but he had to make sure everything was captured. It may have been awful, but it was going to save Tony. Tony stripped down, and the zoom was good enough to see the red raised marks on Tony's back. “Please, no more, Uncle Obie...” Tony's voice is damn near breaking. Stane shoves him onto the bed.

“On your hands and knees.” After Stane takes off his belt, instead of going straight for the whipping Bucky was expecting, Stane takes off his own pants and underwear. Bucky swallows a gagging noise. He can't throw up until he's far enough away. He knew he was going to see violence. He was used to violence. He wasn't expecting this. He wanted to kill Obadiah Stane even more than he had ever wanted to kill Joseph Rogers.

Bucky closed his eyes when he sees the whip. Apparently those marks weren't made by a belt, but by an actual bullwhip. Some of his fellow prisoners, the ones who had been there longer, had such damage. Bucky closed his eyes as the whip came down. He couldn't fully look away, but there was only so much he could bear witness to. The incoherent cries of pain he heard coming from Tony were enough to feed his imagination. When the cracks of the whip stopped, he opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. He was glad he couldn't see Tony's face as Stane climbed up onto the bed and held him down. The noise had stopped because Tony's face was buried in the pillow, and he was pressed underneath Stane. Bucky closed his eyes again once he made sure the camera was capturing all of this. He didn't want to see anymore.

He checked a few times to see if it was over and if the camera was positioned correctly. Each time he snapped his eyes shut as quickly as he could, until it was finally over. Finally, he saw Stane get up off of Tony. He kept his eyes open at this point, knowing he might need to move the camera, so he saw and heard Stane slapping Tony and saying, “You slut. That's what you deserve. Now, what do you say?”

Bucky couldn't hear Tony's reply at first, but another slap forced him into louder words. “Thank you, Uncle Obie.”

Stane just nodded. “Now get your clothes and get out of this room. I don't care what happens, you need to be  _ sitting _ at your computer working bright and early tomorrow.”

Bucky sat in the tree in a daze as Tony limped out of Stane's bedroom. He had come hoping for blackmail material, and what he got was far, far worse. He barely made it off the property before he threw up.


	6. Bucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fills the Teamwork square for Marvel Bingo

“Stevie, we  _ have  _ to get him out of there.” Bucky said as soon as Steve woke up the next morning. He hadn't slept all night, what he had seen and heard burning in his brain, and knowing he hadn't seen everything.

“I know. But, you weren’t this insistent before last night. What happened? Should I see the video? Is he going to be okay?” Steve started working himself into a panic.

Bucky was absolutely not in any state to calm Steve down. “No. You are not watching the video.  _ I _ am not watching the video.  _ No one _ is watching that video unless we send it to the police. I am incredibly tempted to send it to the police no matter what you agreed. The only reason I am not is that I am worried we don't have the full story and someone else is in danger, as well.”

This, of course, did absolutely nothing to reassure Steve but at least Bucky could see the moment it turned his brain from panic to planning. “So, Stane is evil. We have to blackmail him in a way where he'll let Tony go rather than clam up. And then, once Tony is free, we'll take care of him and see if we can help him.”

In low tones Bucky murmured, “Helping him may be harder than you think.” He then said at a normal volume, “Well, the camera and disc are untraceable, and I can make sure there are no prints on anything. I'm going to copy the disc and then we are going to sit and plan out the letter. I want to drop off that letter today. The faster this happens, the better.”

The two of them set to squabbling over wording for a blackmail note, which had the odd effect of calming them down, due to the familiarity of the squabbling and the fact they were making progress. Bucky was relieved, because now that they were buckling down with a plan, Steve wouldn't go off half-cocked to try and save Tony, and probably get himself arrested or killed in the process.

After over an hour of discussion, Bucky finally put his foot down in frustration. “Steve. It's as good as it is going to get. You'll be ready to meet Tony out of sight, and I'll be able to make sure no one follows him. We won't lose our insurance. And I'll call Nat. She'll make sure nothing preventable happens to Tony in the meantime.” Bucky absolutely knew that Tony would be further abused, but Nat would at least be able to make sure that killed wasn't going to be on the list for consequences for their attempt to save Tony. If Tony let them take care of him, Steve was going to learn what happened, but Bucky was going to protect Steve as long as possible. Doing so would also protect Tony- it should be as little a privacy violation as possible.

Bucky hated having no one to talk to about what he had seen, but it would be worse to talk to someone. Maybe, someday, Tony would talk to them. With that thought, Bucky realized that the small brunet's strength had led to him joining Steve on that crush. Well, Bucky sure as hell wasn't going to do anything about it. He could nurse a crush privately. Tony didn't deserve to leave what he was coming from to two guys hitting on him. There was no way Bucky was going to make a move any time soon.

“You know, I'm glad Fury is supposed to be on vacation all next week. He has a sixth sense for shenanigans, and I don't want him interfering with this.” Steve sighed. Bucky was nervous, as while Steve knew things were bad, he didn't have a clue how bad. They were both going to be in over their heads, but they also couldn't just sit back and let this lie.

“Okay. Let's hop to it.” Bucky prepped the letter for the drop while Steve called Nat. Between the two of them, they set up so that in six days, Tony should be free from the monster that was Stane. They cleaned out their spare room that they had been using as storage, and made sure they'd be as ready as they could be to house someone hurting. Even if Steve didn't know the worst, Bucky knew he had enough experience with pain to be at least a little ready.

The six days passed in some weird stretching of time, where it was far too long to leave Tony in Stane's hands, and yet not long enough to prepare for Tony. Nat had reported that she had seen Stane yelling about the blackmail note, so at least that was delivered. The night Stane was supposed to leave Tony behind at the restaurant, Bucky took position to overlook the restaurant and make sure no one was watching. That way Steve could bring Tony home, and no one would know where he was. When Bucky heard screeching tires and saw Stane's vehicle leave, he took a careful look around, using every bit of his training to make sure the coast was clear. He then called Steve, and told him to get Tony home. Bucky would guard their backs and meet them there later.

Arriving home, Bucky was worried. Would Tony be upset at them? Yes, they had gotten him out, but he knew from the way Steve had told his story that Tony didn't expect to be saved, and there was a reason he didn't want to be. He braced himself for even more disaster. But, at least Tony was safe from what he had seen snippets of when filming. Taking a deep breath, Bucky opened the door.

“I didn't expect you to  _ actually  _ manage to blackmail Obie into letting me go! I had it under control! I'm eighteen, I'm not a  _ child _ .” Tony was ranting, his arms waving. Clearly however long he was with Stane, he still had all his fire. Bucky wasn't sure how he felt about that. Given Steve, he clearly had a soft spot for firecrackers, but damn, they were a lot of work. As he closed the door, Tony looked up at him. “So, I take it you're this one's partner in crime?” The smile on Tony's face isn't friendly, but Bucky would be damned, every single time, by his eyes. The young man was gorgeous.

“Yeah, I helped him out here with the blackmail. He's good at talking me into things.” Bucky drawled his answer, not yet sure how much Tony knew, or how much he wanted to talk about. Also, maybe they'd find out why he hadn't left, given he was old enough that Stane wasn't his guardian.

“Are you absolutely  _ sure _ he's not going to tell anyone?” Tony's voice was scared in Bucky's ears.

“That was the deal. And he doesn't want to break the deal, because he knows we have information on him that he doesn't want to get out.” Bucky was still being cagy about the information because he didn't know how much Tony knew yet.

“Ah, yes. Footage of him and me. Why would he care? I'm 18!” Tony clearly had at least some idea of what was taken. Damn it, Bucky was going to have to reveal what he had done, and that he knew what had happened with Tony and Stane. And Steve was going to find out, too. Hopefully Steve could hold his temper in until he wasn't in the same room as Tony.

“Tony, I'm the one who took that footage. I closed my eyes whenever I could, but I saw some of it because I had to make sure the camera captured it all. And what I saw sure as hell wasn't consensual.” There was absolutely no gentle way for Bucky to say it, so he just ripped that band-aid off. “It looked pretty harmful, actually.”

Bucky saw Steve's fists clench and him holding back saying anything with visible effort. Tony, for his part, instantly shrunk in on himself in a way that made Bucky feel extremely guilty for causing. “You... you saw?” Far from the defiant tone he previously had, this time Bucky felt like he sounded about to cry.

Bucky leapt to reassure him. “I didn't see it all, and I'm the only one who saw. I'm sorry I had to see it, but I'm not sorry you're safe from that monster.”

“I just hope you're right and he keeps silent. I'm not the only one who was in danger here.” Tony's voice had all of its previous steel back, and even more.


	7. Maria

Last night had been the last straw for Maria Stark née Carbonell. She had been thinking about this move for a few months, ever since her son had turned eighteen while away at school. Things hadn't been too bad since Tony's birthday, until the previous night, so she had waited. After what happened, though, she couldn't wait any longer. Howard couldn't keep Tony, legally, and she still had money from her trust. It wasn't enough to win a custody battle, but it would be more than enough to get her away.

First she would go to her old friend, Nick Fury. Since he knew Howard, as well, they were able to keep in touch, but only intermittently. She did know that he ran an Italian restaurant, and that he would probably be preparing for dinner at this time of day. (It had taken far too long for her to get up and get ready to leave, but Howard hadn't left her alone until much later than usual the night before). Maria gathered up her bags and marched out of the house she had lived in for years.

She was tired and a bit bedraggled when she came up to Fury's restaurant, yet finely dressed enough she clearly belonged with the clientele. Walking right up to the maitre'd, she stated firmly, “I need to speak with Nick. Tell him Maria is here.”

A single blink was the only sign of surprise at Fury's first name. “I'll get him for you, ma'am.” The maitre'd quickly disappeared into the back. As he did so, Maria noticed one waiter do a double take, then make a quick text on his phone. She was confused, but hoped it didn't have anything to do with her. Just as she was starting to wonder how long she was going to have to wait, the maitre'd returned.

“Fury will talk to you in his office. Second door on the left.” The maitre'd's face never changed expression once.

Maria walked back to Nick's office. Her pace dragged a bit, as she had no idea what she was going to tell him. Maybe she would just ask for help finding a place she could move into right away. She'd also need a phone, so she could call Tony. And a lawyer... there was a lot she would need. Nick would have to know everything so he could help her. Opening the door to Nick's office, she greeted him. “It's been a long time, Nick.”

One long, draining conversation later, she opened the door to his office to a blur flying down the hallway at her. “MAMA!” She heard, which had her opening her arms on instinct.

“Oh, mio bambino!” Somehow her Tony was here, with her, and while she had a thousand questions, right now she was going to hug her son until he wasn't willing to be hugged anymore.

An eternity later, when they finally stopped hugging each other, Maria looked up to find the waiter from earlier, a small blond man, standing next to a beefy brunet, smiling with some tears in their eyes. “I'm not sure what you two had to do with this, but I can tell that you helped this happen, somehow, so thank you, both of you.” At that, the smaller one turned a brilliant shade of red.

“It, uh, it was nothing, ma'am. We're just glad you're reunited. We should let you two catch up.” The brunet was the one who spoke, as the blond still seemed to be blushing from the earlier compliment.

“Steve, Bucky, can Mama and I use your apartment to catch up? We don't want to do this in public, and I'm sure Mama hasn't found a place to stay.” Tony piped up with his own contribution.

The blond tossed her son a set of keys. “Of course, Tony. You're both welcome in our apartment as long as you need it. I'm just glad I was here to see her and let you know to come meet her.” Tony snatched the keys out of the air.

“Okay, Mama, let's go. There's a lot you need to know.” Tony led her out of the restaurant and to a small two bedroom apartment.

Walking in, Maria sees a home. One that had very little of her son in it, but he was clearly comfortable here, dropping right down on the couch. “Are you ready to tell me what's going on?” Maria couldn't help but be a little short. She really didn't like being out of the loop when it came to her baby boy.

Tony sighed deeply and put his face in his hands. Maria's heart sank at the sign it was worse than she had thought. “I guess I should start with the day I went to study with Uncle Obie...” Tony drifted off before picking up the thread of the story.

Many hours later, the blond and brunet whom her son had called Steve and Bucky came into the apartment. Maria looked up from where she was holding her son on the couch. He was asleep, but tear tracks stained his cheeks. “Thank you, both of you, for helping my son. Whatever I can do for you, ever, it is yours. I will help you any way possible. Just, thank you.”

The large blond blushed and dropped his head. “You don't have to, ma'am. We were just doing what is right. I just couldn't stand to see someone in trouble like that.”

“Still, I owe you. You may not see it that way, but that more speaks to your kind soul than to reality. And don't worry, the two of us will be out of your hair soon enough. I'll make sure you have a way to contact us, though. I mean it, anything you need, let me know, and I will do my best to make it happen.” Maria leveled a glare at the two men, showing exactly where her son had gotten his steel spine.

The brunet jumped in. “Thank you, ma'am. And your son is amazing. Also, excuse our manners.” At this, the brunet elbowed the blond. “This big lug is Steve, and I'm Bucky. For tonight, one of you can have the spare bedroom, and the other, the couch. I'm sorry we don't have more to offer, but there's plenty of blankets.”

“Thank you again. I'm glad of all the people in New York, my son ran into you.”


	8. Epilogue- James Rhodes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fills the Stuckony square for my Marvel Bingo

6 MONTHS LATER

Jim Rhodes was getting very frustrated with his best friend. It had been about eight months since they had parted with him going into his first deployment. Since then, Tony had not said a single thing that had actually indicated how he was. Every time Jim got close, Tony would distract him with the latest technological innovations, especially in the field of aviation. Tony knew him too well. Then Jim heard a voice call from inside the mess, which had the TV turned to the news. “Hey, Jim, don't you Tony Stark? He's on the news!”

Jim immediately dashed in to see what the hell his genius (yes, Tony was his little brother genius) had gotten himself into. He was absolutely horrified to read the headline underneath the talking head, who was interviewing Tony. “OBADIAH STANE ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT, RAPE” Under Tony, there was just one word, and it sent Jim's heart to the floor. “Victim.”

Damnit. Jim had known something was wrong back before school got out. There had been nothing he could do, but this, well, he had suspected something like this, but that didn't make it any harder to hear. Now, he was going to have to get some leave and go find Tony. He knew Tony, and knew that support was needed.

It took a week for Jim to get leave. As soon as he did, he called Tony and told him he was coming. Tony reluctantly gave him his new address, which was interesting in itself, as there was an apartment number. Fancy neighborhood, but an apartment or condo, not a whole ass mansion like he knew was Tony's previous residence. As he came up to the door, he saw two white boys, one tiny and blond and the other buff and brunet giving Tony a kiss, one on each cheek. He heard the blond go, “Have fun with your friend. We still on for the date tomorrow?”

Tony chirped happily, far more happily than Jim had ever heard before, at least without scientific discovery happening that very minute, “I'm looking forward to it!” His voice immediately got more nervous. “You still okay with meeting my Rhodeybear after the lunch date?”

The brunet immediately rushed to reassure him. “Of course, doll. He's your best friend, why wouldn't we want to meet him? You've met all of our friends.”

Jim decided he had enough eavesdropping. It was time to make his presence known. “Hi Tony. How are you doing?” He then very obviously gave the two other men there a long once over. “And who are these two?”

“Rhodeybear!” Suddenly Jim's arms were full of tiny brunet. “I've missed you! These two are Steve and Bucky. Don't worry, we'll catch up with them tomorrow!” Steve waved when his name was said, while Bucky merely returned Jim's once over.

Jim laughed in relief to hear the excitement he remembered from when Tony was a freshman and far less burdend than the last time they had seen each other. “Okay, Tones. We'll catch up with each other today. You go ahead in, just give me one moment.”

As soon as Tony was inside (he had to have known what Jim had planned, but the two of them were very good at pretending with each other) Jim turned to the two others. “Now. I don't know what happened, how you met Tony, or anything else, but let me make something clear. I may not have been here for him as much as I would have liked, but if you two do  _ anything _ to hurt him, my revenge may not be swift, but it will be incredibly thorough.”

Rather than getting upset, the two of them raised themselves in Jim's estimation by nodding solemnly. Bucky replied, apparently for the both of them, “You'll learn the whole story, I'm sure, but I'm just glad he has someone else looking out for him. We're not gonna hurt him, but I'm glad we're not the only ones defending him. We'll talk tomorrow. Today, you have fun with the little genius.” The three exchanged nods, and soon Jim was left at the door.

Taking a deep breath, Jim walked inside. He was going to have to ask Tony about Obie's trial. Stepping over the threshold, he was ready to be Tony's brother again. As soon as he walked in, Tony looked up at him and smiled a genuine smile. “It's good to see you, Rhodey! Having fun in the Army?”

“It's Air Force, and you know it, Tones. It's good to see you, too.” Jim crashed down gracelessly on the couch next to Tony “You know what I'm gonna ask about, right?” Jim lifted up his arm so that Tony could decide if he wanted to, well, cuddle like they had when the nightmares woke him up. Tony flopped against Jim.

“Yeah, Rhody. I know.” Tony proceeded to tell the entire sordid tale, ignoring all of Jim's reactions to it. At the end of it, Tony concluded with, “But it's over and I'm okay now!” This resulted in a huge hug, and Jim being willing to pretend again that it being over meant it was over. The two of them spent the rest of the day goofing off and catching up on science.

The next day, Jim was early for meeting up after lunch. He knew it was intrusive, but he wanted to see if he could eavesdrop a bit on Tony and what appeared to be his new boyfriends. While he was grateful to them for rescuing Tony, he still wanted to make sure the man he saw as his little brother was okay. He stood outside the door to the apartment Tony lived in and that they were planning on meeting at. He heard a sustained music note, then Steve saying, “That was beautiful, sweetheart. Can you play us something else?”

Jim smiled as he heard the song playing. It's the one he'd only heard Tony play once, when he was thrilled to have received his first degree. Beethoven's  _ Rage Over a Lost Penny _ was happy and silly. He knew he didn't have to worry about Tony with Steve and Bucky. Not only was he playing piano for them, he was playing happy things. Jim would still keep an eye out like a big brother, but his wrath wasn't needed.

Maybe his little brother would actually get his happy ending.


End file.
